OREANDA-NEWS. Grove Lane bridge, which crosses four rail lines in Barrow upon Soar, suffered damage on 1 August.

Although the railway reopened to passenger trains the following day, and the bridge reopened to pedestrians three weeks later, the long-term repairs to reopen the bridge to motorists have been carefully considered to minimise the disruption to both rail passengers and nearby residents.

Now Network Rail can confirm plans have been drawn up to not only repair the bridge but also raise the parapets slightly to make it safe to carry the electrical wires that will form part of the Midland Main Line route upgrade, with the bridge to reopen fully in January 2017. The parapet adjustments will mean no further disruption will be necessary in years to come.

Plans to raise the parapets are currently being discussed with Leicestershire County Council.

Gary Walsh, area director for Network Rail said: “The plans we have put forward for Grove Lane not only make it safe for vehicles but also future-proof the bridge for electrification which is part of our Railway Upgrade Plan for Leicestershire. Doing this work now means we won’t need to come back in the future and create further disruption. We’ll continue to speak regularly and openly with residents about any noise and night time work that is likely, as well as to passengers about any changes to train times.”

A public drop-in event will take place at the Scout Hut on Thursday, 22 September between 3.30pm and 6.30pm, when members of Network Rail project team will be on hand to discuss the plans with residents.

Members of the public with an enquiry about the bridge repairs should contact Network Rail’s national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.

Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain's railway - the 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations (the largest of which we also run). In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.65bn journeys by rail every year and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We employ 36,000 people across Britain and work round-the-clock, each and every day, to provide a safe, reliable railway.